Improvement in station-indicators



UNITED STATES' Y`I`E rrrnnfr Ai .JOHN R. DEARDEN AND WILLIAM J. DEARDEN, SAXONVILLE, MASS.

IMPROVEMENT IN STATION-INDICATORS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 221,160, dated November 4, 1879; application tiled September 25, 1879.

'To all whom 'it 'may concern;

Be it known that we, JOHN 1t. DEARDEN :and VILLIAM J. DEARDEN, of Saxonville, of the county of Middlesex and State of Massa- Echusetts, have invented a new and useful Ini- *provenient in Station-Indicators for Railway- Carriages; and we do hereby declare the same lto bedescribed in the following specification and represented in the accompanying drawings, of which y Figure 1 isa front elevation, and Figs. 2 and- 3 opposite sido views, and Fig. et a longitudinal section, of an indicator of our improved kind.

The mechanism hereinafter explained is to indicate to persons in a railway-car the name of any station which the car may be approaching or at which it may have arrived, the names `of the several stations of the railway being uprinted or made in their order on a chain of plate-links, each link bearing the name of a Station.

A top view on a small scale ot' a portion of such a chain is shown in Fig. 5, in which AA A are the plate-links, hinged or connected at their edges, as shown at a a a., Svc., so that each 1.plate of the set can be folded down upon that .neXt t0 it. 1

Every other one of the plates has two projjections, b b, extending frornit atits ends, in

manner as shown, and, furthermore, there-are 4at the junctions of the plates semicircular notches c, made in each plate, as represented7 they being to form holes for reception of the `studs or teeth d, extending from the corners of two polygonal plates, B B, fixed on a shaft, C. The length of each of the sides of the perimeter of each polygonal plate corresponds with the width of each of the station-naine plates of the chain. The polygonal plates with their shaft act like a sprocket-wheel.

In the side of one of the plates B is a series of notches, c, their number corresponding to that ofthe sides or sections of the perimeter of the plate.

A wheel, f, carried by a spring, g, at its free end, by-entering either of such notches, serves to hold the head or plate from accidentally revolving, and allowing of it being turned by either of two hooked or drawpawls, D E, which are respectively pivoted to sectors F G, that turn freely on the shaft C, and have between them a ratchetwheel, H, provided with two sets of hook-teeth, h i, those of one set standing in directions opposite to those of the other, as shown. The wheel H slides on the shaft C lengthwise of it, so as to carry each set of teeth into or out of action with its pawl.

The shaft G has a cylindrical socket, 7c, in

it to receive a slider, Z, and a spring, m, thesaid spring being to move the slider in one direction in the socket.

A pin, m', goes diametrically through the ratchet-wheel and the slider, and also through a slot, a, extending transversely through the shaft C, the same being to enable the wheel to be lnoved in on the shaft C by the slider and the opposite way by the spring.

Rods l K are pivoted to the sectors F Gr and to one arm of a rocker-lever, L, arranged as shown. The shaft G and its adjuncts and 'the rockenlever L are arranged with and supL ported by a suitable frame, M, as represented.

Furthermore, there is pivoted on the fulcrum shaft o of the rocker-lever an angular lever, N provided at its upper end with a cam, O, for

moving the slide l, and consequently the ratchet-wheel, toward the next adjacent ofthe polygonal plates. j

Rods provided with sprin gs for forcing them upward are to be pivoted to the two levers L N, and to extend down through the carriage nearly to the track between its rails, such rods having at their lower ends projections to run under and against inclined cams fixed to and projecting up from the roadway. To each terminal station of the roadway there is to be a cam for operating the cammed lever N, in order for the ratchet-wheel to be set to effect the proper intermittent rotary movement of the Y polygonal plates, for while the cam may be running on the road in one direction the saidst plates are to be revolved. the opposite way to which they may be ruiming in the other direction. So, to each intermediate station of the road there is to be a cam for effecting the movei ment of the rockerdever, inl order to cause the polygonal plates to berevolved to cause the name of the station to be properly seen at the oriiice of the case in the car.

Below the polygonal plates the frame is provided with a set of vertical rods, r r, to keep the two piles of chain plates asunder, as they rest and form on the base s of the frame. There are also within the frame two sets of rods, t t, inclined in manner as shown. They operate with the projections of the plates ofthe chain to canse the plates in passing down either way to fold and pile 011 each other regularly.

The above-described mechanism is to be arranged in a suitable ease, having' an oritce in its front to allow of each namelplate to be seen as it may pass or be brought direetl y in rear of the opening.

Ve are aware it is not new to have an endless chain of name-plates to be moved by and o11 a polygonal barrel, in order to exhibit the names of the stations of a railroad. Therefore we do not claim such. /Ve do not use an endless chain, but have a chain to fold in two packs, as shown, and also have mechanism for effecting the folding and packing of it.

That we claim as our invent-ion is as follows:

1. The combination of the mechanism for i11- termittentl y revolving the polygonal plates with that for moving the ratchet-wheel endwise in each direction to carry it into engagement with either ofthe pawls for revolving` it,

such consisting ofthe ratchet-wheel H, its slider l, and spring m, the sectors F G and their pawls D E, the connecting-rods I K, rocker-lever L. and angular leverN and its eam O, all arranged and applied substantially in manner to actuate the shaft C, in manner and by means as described.

2. The combination of the set ot' separatingrods 1' 1' and the sets of guide-rods tt, arranged, as shown, in the frame, with the retraetive and toothed polygons, provided with operative mechanism, as described, and with the name plate chain, having every other one otl its links or plates furnished with projections b b, to operate with such the inclined rods, in order to cause the plates to fold in a pack, all bein g substantially as set forth.

3. The naine-plate chain having every other one of its links provided with projections b b extending from it, and to operate with inclined guides or rods arranged in the frame of the machine, in manner as represented.

JOHN R. DEARDEN. VILLIAM J. DEARDEN.

Witnesses:

l. H. EDDY, XV. \V. LUN'r. 

